Tommy Ramone, last surviving member of seminal punk band, dies; performed in Kingston, Phoenicia as member of Uncle Monk

Tommy Ramone and Claudia Tienan, as the bluegrass duo Uncle Monk, are pictured at the Mystery Spot in Phoenicia.
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Tommy Ramone, a member the seminal punk band the Ramones and the last surviving member of the group, has died, a business associate said Saturday.

Dave Frey, who works for Ramones Productions and Silent Partner Management, said Ramone, 65, died Friday. There was no immediate word on the cause.

Tommy Ramone, a drummer, co-founded the Ramones in 1974 in New York along with singer Joey Ramone, bassist Dee Dee Ramone and guitarist Johnny Ramone. All had different last names but took the common name Ramone from an alias Paul McCartney used to check into hotels.

Tommy Ramone later was a familiar face in Ulster County. He and Claudia Tienan worked as the bluegrass duo Uncle Monk, which at times performed at the former Muddy Cup in Midtown Kingston and the Mystery Spot in Phoenicia.

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Ramone sang in the bluegrass duo and played mandolin, guitar, banjo and dobro. Uncle Monk released an eponymous album in 2006.

The Ramones influenced a generation of rockers, and their songs “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Rockaway Beach,” among others, earned them an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Wearing ripped jeans, black leather and bad haircuts, the Ramones stripped rock down to its essentials: two guitars, drums, a singer, no solos and songs that were short and fast. Their 1976 debut album had 14 songs that spanned less than 30 minutes, with “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” and “Beat on the Brat” reflecting their twisted teen years.

The Ramones never had a Top 40 hit, though not for lack of trying. They brought in the eccentric Phil Spector to produce an album. And after seeing the Ramones in Asbury Park, N.J., Bruce Springsteen wrote “Hungry Heart” for them — then kept it for himself when his manager smelled a hit.

Bands influenced by the Ramones — like Nirvana, Blink-182 and Green Day — came later and did sell, with sounds unimaginable had the punk foursome not come first. And today, teenagers not yet born when the Ramones played their last gig in 1996, perhaps even unaware of their legacy, wear black T-shirts to the mall emblazoned with the band’s distinctive insignia.

Tommy Ramone was the last to see it all. Singer Joey died first, of cancer, at age 49 in 2001. Bass player Dee Dee was killed by a drug overdose the next year at age 50, three months after the band’s rock hall induction. Guitarist Johnny died of cancer in 2004 at age 55.

Tommy was the band’s original manager and helped produce some of their earlier albums. He was a guitar player in a band with Johnny that predated the Ramones, but went behind the drums when they couldn’t find anyone else to keep up. He got out early, leaving the stage in 1978, although he produced the Ramones’ 1980s album “Too Tough to Die.”

“If you’re cooped up in a van with the Ramones, it can eventually get to you,” he said in a later interview.